Maria's Adventures: Pokemon OneShots
by FourthWallBreaker
Summary: A collection of stories that talk about what happened to Maria before the events of the Nintendo Kingdom story, speaking of certain major events that Maria came across along the way. The order is flexible - I'm taking events from all over the timeline with no attention to order. Yeah, probably not my best summary...
1. A Human!

**This is going to be the start of a bunch of oneshots - written out of order in some cases - that popped into my head to kind of fill in between the Disney Kingdom and the Nintendo Kingdom stories. That could be changed to into something else, though, if something else pops into my head.**

**A Human?!**

"...and that's probably why Darkrai acted so funny," a Vulpix finished as she and a Pikachu climbed down a ladder, reaching a hidden floor in the side of a cliff.

"It certainly makes sense," the Pikachu admitted. "What other Pokemon survive an attack like that unscathed?"

"Exactly my point," the Vulpix confirmed.

"Squawk! Maria, Pika!" The two Pokemon turned their heads as a bird with a musical note for a head approached. "I suppose your trek out to Mystifying Forest went well?"

"It was a success, Chatot," Pika confirmed. "We managed to find Darkrai and recruit him!"

Maria nodded in agreement. "He had lost a pretty good chunk of his memory - enough to forget any evil plans he might have had. So, we decided to give Dusk a second chance."

"My, my, my, now that _is _interesting." The top of Chatot's head drifted back and forth out of delight. "Any particular reason why you decided to visit the Guild?"

"Nah. We just wanted to see everyone and let them know how we're doing." Maria looked over to where a Croagunk sat in front of a kettle. "We have a few items we want to swap, too."

Chatot chirped. "All right, then. Are you any closer to Guildmaster Rank?"

"We're getting close," Pika responded. "The Badge has gone from pure black to gray, so it shouldn't take long."

Maria grinned. "We're going to see if Officer Magnezone found a few more outlaws tomorrow. That'll probably give us the boost we need."

Chatot looked nervous. "I'm afraid you might not find any sort of challenge..."

The grin on the Vulpix's face faded. "And why not?"

"After the spacial distortion problem was solved, bad Pokemon have become less frequent." Chatot scratched his head with one wing. "There isn't really much left but petty thieves, now."

Maria let out a sigh. "Ah, well. At least things are starting to calm down." She sat down and started to scratch behind her left ear. "Y'know, though, I've been thinking. Isn't it odd that there aren't any humans around here?" She looked at the two Pokemon. "I mean, we know what humans _look_ like, but we haven't _seen_ any in any of the dungeons. Where do they live?"

"We're not sure," Chatot admitted. "No Exploration team has ever been outside of this region - mainly because it's too far for any Pokemon to travel. However, we have heard some rumors that some teams become separated by leaving this area."

Maria frowned. "Separated? What do you mean?"

"Something about humans 'capturing' team members or something..."

Pika's eyes widened in surprise. "Capture? They take Pokemon?"

Chatot nodded. "No one has tried to even go after the Pokemon we have lost."

"Maybe someone should." Maria stood up, a determined look on her face. "I'm strong; those humans couldn't stand a chance against me."

"I wouldn't be so sure..." The group turned to look as Wigglytuff approached. "Humans are a strange bunch - they're not Pokemon, they rely on items to defend themselves, and bad humans _cause_ natural disasters."

"That _is_ strange," Pika agreed.

"I wonder what would cause a human to go bad..." Maria put a paw to her chin and frowned, only for her ears to twitch suddenly towards the window. "Something's happening outside!" She dashed for the window, the other Pokemon following behind.

A dimensional hole, very much like the one Darkrai had disappeared into, was right outside the window.

"Do you think someone else is trying to come through time again?" Pika asked, concerned.

Maria frowned, then shook her head. "This doesn't feel quite like that." She caught sight of something coming through the rip. "Everyone, get down!"

Wigglytuff and the others ducked below the window as something very big came crashing through, breaking the window as the hole vanished.

"What was that?" Chatot asked, turning around in order to get a better look at what had come through.

Wigglytuff, following suit, stopped short in surprise, his already large eyes becoming even larger. "Oh, my..."

Maria got up from where she and Pika had been lying close to the window sill. "What is it?" The Vulpix looked at what was in the center of the room, only for her eyes to widen. "Is that a-"

"Yes it is," Wigglytuff confirmed. "That is a human."

Pika looked at the Guildmaster in surprise. "But how did a human get here?"

Maria cocked her head slightly. "Maybe I can figure it out." She trotted forward, then reached out for the red scarf the human wore around its neck. "Dimensional Scream, don't fail me now!"

As soon as the Vulpix touched the scarf, her vision blurred, and was soon replaced with a white room with other humans - one of whom was old and had white hair growing all over his face.

_"Now, are you sure that you want to test this?" the old human asked, motioning to a device. Maria noted that it was a male._

_A human with blond hair, goggles, and a red scarf nodded. "No one's ever been to the other side of the world yet. This could be our one chance at finding out where missing humans went." Maria realized this human was the one who she was touching, and that it sounded like a girl. "And if I'm not going to go, then who will?"_

_The old man nodded. "You have a good point. All right - I'll fire it up." He moved over and started to push buttons and pull levers on a wall of metal, causing a dimensional hole to open up. "Good luck."_

Maria shook her head as her vision started to clear up, and she backed away from the human. "A human did something that created the hole," she muttered. "How, I have no clue. There was something about missing humans, too..."

The human let out a moan and started to stir, causing the Vulpix to jump back in surprise. The Pokemon present in the room watched as the human got up slowly, rubbing her head.

"Man, what a headache," the human grumbled. She looked around the room, curious. "This doesn't look like a place that humans have been in... Wait. A Wigglytuff, Chatot, Coragunk, Pikachu, and Vulpix? That's an odd combination."

"What do you mean, odd?" Maria repeated. "There's Pokemon of all sorts of species around here."

"That's not what I-" the human stopped short in surprise, then looked down at Maria. "Did you just talk?"

Maria cocked her head in confusion. "Well, sure I did. All Pokemon can."

"Maria, not everything is the same out there as it is over here," Chatot warned. "Out there, you would need the Guildmaster Rank in order to communicate with humans."

The human blinked in confusion, her blue eyes darkening. "Guildmaster Rank? What are you talking about?"

"It's an Exploration Team Rank," Maria replied calmly. "Here, Pokemon form teams, and we go around and try to help other Pokemon solve their problems. I'm partnered up with Pika, and our team's name is PokeExplore." Pika waved nervously at the human.

"Help other Pokemon?" The human smiled. "That sounds a lot like what I do! As a Pokemon Ranger, I help humans and Pokemon solve problems - like taking out forest fires or Pokemon poachers." After realizing something, the human added, "The name's Summer. I was sent here to see if we could figure out where a few humans disappeared to."

"What do you mean?" Chatot hopped forward cautiously.

"Well, for some reason, there have been a few kids who have disappeared from their homes without a trace. No one's figured it of quite yet, but Professor Hastings suspected that people were going to the other side of the world."

"You mean here." Wigglytuff waddled over to Summer's left. "I've heard rumors about that. I'm not sure if anyone could be of any help, though..."

"Maybe I could." The group turned to look at Maria as she continued, "With my ability, I could figure out where some Pokemon come from, and I could find those missing humans you're looking for."

Summer frowned. "What kind of ability do you have?"

"It's called the Dimensional Scream," Pika supplied. "Whenever Maria touches something, she sees a vision of the past or the future in order to help us solve problems. She was using it on your scarf a minute ago."

Maria nodded in confirmation to Summer's surprise. "I saw that old human - what was it? Professor Hastings? - creating the dimensional hole that brought you here."

Summer's eyes widened. "That's incredible," she murmured. "Whenever did you get a gift like that?"

Maria shrugged. "I don't know. I lost my memory a long time ago, so even my origins are lost to me."

"We've found out a few things, though," Pika added.

"Like what?" Summer sat down on the floor to put herself at a eye level with the Pokemon.

"I'm from the future, for one thing," Maria admitted. "I was sent back in time with a Grovyle to keep the planet from becoming paralyzed by time stopping. When I faded from the timeline, Dialga brought me back so that Pika and I could keep the team together. I also used to be human, apparently."

Summer's eyes widened. "A human turning into a Pokemon? That's unheard of!"

"Not around here." Maria wrapped her tails around her front paws. "You're probably going to have a hard time of finding the humans you're looking for - some may be suffering from amnesia, like me, or even moved on from their old lives and become used to a new one."

The Ranger frowned. "Well, isn't that just great! You guys are probably pretty widespread, too."

"There are Exploration Guilds all over our side of the world!" Wigglytuff grinned. "Any one of them could have picked up a human or two."

"But how are we going to get this one home?" Croagunk came over from his Swap Cauldron. "Meh-heh-heh. She might end up turning into a Pokemon sooner or later. And from the looks of things, those humans aren't going to want to lose her."

Summer nodded. "You're right about that..." She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't want to have to stay here for good."

"Maybe we can arrange something for you," Pika suggested. "Maria and I have made a few friends over our time of traveling. We can contact someone to send you home."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Why not?" Maria nodded to Pika. "Let's get Palkia down here."

**Line Break**

"Come on, Summer! Just a little bit further!"

Summer let out a grunt. "Easy for you to say! You're not the one who's too big for the hole." All the same she managed to squeeze out, only to find herself standing beside Maria and Pika on top of a hill overlooking a small village. "Wow. And all this is run by Pokemon?"

"That's right," Maria confirmed. "Treasure Town is a place where Exploration Teams can buy, sell, and store items, as well as train, have the day care look after Eggs, and learn new or old attacks." She motioned with a paw at the cliff line in the distance. "Our base is in Sharpedo Bluff, which is a part of the cliff which is shaped like a Sharpedo. The sea breeze is the best way to be woken up in the morning."

"A lot better than Loudred's yelling," Pika agreed. The two Pokemon laughed.

"So, when's your friend getting here?" Summer asked.

"He should be here right about...now."

A white sphere of energy zoomed out of the sky and stopped right in front of the group. When the brightness had faded, a pink dragon with a gem on one arm stood in its place.

_"Maria, Pika,"_ the Pokemon greeted. _"What do you need me for?"_

"It's this human - Summer," Maria answered, while the Ranger looked up at the Legendary in surprise. "She needs to be sent back home."

_"Ah...a Pokemon Ranger. It has been a long time since I have seen your kind of human."_ Palkia looked the Ranger over curiously.

"So, you can send me home?" Summer asked cautiously.

_"I can. I cannot guarantee that the way will be more smooth than the way you came, but I can send you home._" The Water/Dragon-Type let out a roar, and a dimensional hole appeared in front of the human.

Summer approached the rip, then turned to look back at Maria. "I hope you can find a way to become human again."

Maria shrugged. "What's done is done. I can't change what I am."

Palkia cocked his head slightly. _"Maria, come to Spacial Rift tonight. There is something I must tell you."_

The Pokemon blinked in confusion, then nodded slightly. "All right, then."

_"Summer, you must leave this side of the world. If you stay much longer, you will become a Pokemon."_

Summer swallowed. "All right." Nodding to Maria, she said, "I hope we can see each other again soon." With that, she disappeared into the rip, which closed behind her.

"Palkia, what do you want to talk to Maria about?" Pika asked.

Palkia eyed the Electric-Type._"I did not mention this before. but it is possible for me to turn Maria back into a human."_

"WHAT?!" The two Pokemon looked at the Legendary in surprise.

_"However, the change will force her to live on the human side of the world. If she were to accept this, she would still retain her memories and knowledge from when she was a Pokemon. Dialga and I discussed this some time ago, and we agree that it might do Maria some good id she were to become human again."_

"You mean, I might remember some things?" Maria gave the Legendary a curious look.

_"It is possible."_

The Vulpix's eyes became wide. "Oh, man! Become human and recover my memories?! That would be so cool!"

Pika, however, looked concerned. "But...what'll happen to the team? I mean, if you became a human, you wouldn't be able to stick around and help with missions."

Maria's ears drooped. "Yeah...you're right..." She looked over at Palkia. "Is there anything you can offer that can remedy that?"

_"Only a suggestion: have Pika find a temporary - if not, permanent - replacement. If traveling as a human is what you wish, so be it. If you wish to remain a Vulpix, so be it. Come to me in Spacial Rift when you have made your decision."_ With that, the Legendary Pokemon disappeared in a flash of light.

Pika gave Maria a worried look. "What are we going to do?"

The Vulpix frowned, thinking over what Palkia had said. "I think...it's time that we promoted your girlfriend."

**That's what happened before Maria started on her Trainer journey. Expect to hear more as time passes.**

**This is Nexus, signing off the interdimensional waves. Until next time.**


	2. Ruins of Alph

**This one I pulled from part of Maria's Jhoto expedition - pretty early on, if you guys can guess from the title. Kind of...how she first heard of the Mobians after her memory loss at the hands of Darkrai. Or claws. You can probably guess who's being referred to in this chapter.**

**Just an added warning: I tried to underline all of the PokeSpeak used, but not all of it might end up coming out in the story. So, sorry if it seems like Jaws is speaking in plain English sometimes. :/**

**The Ruins of Alph**

Maria looked around as she stepped through the gate, a two-legged blue crocodile - a Totodile - walking beside her, looking a little bored with the sight.

"Do we really have to have a look around here?" the Water-Type asked in a disgruntled fashion.

"Mom said that it would be good for us to have a look around," Maria responded. She adjusted the red baseball cap on her head, then absently rubbed that blue buzz saw-shape on the front of it. "Something about the symbol on my hat being connected to the ruins." She looked down at the Totodile. "You might not find it interesting, Jaws, but I do. C'mon - maybe we can slip into one of the buildings and have a look around."

"Do you think they'd let you?"

Maria smirked, her blue eyes sparking with mischief. "I can always pull the 'I'm the Kanto Champion,' you know. It might let me have a look around in at least one of the buildings." She turned her head as a figure approached: a gray-haired man in what appeared to be a safari outfit, which, in the Trainer's opinion, was highly out of place in the ruins.

"Greetings!" the man stated. "I'm the head of the research department here at the Ruins of Alph. It's been quite some time since a Trainer had set foot in this area."

"Really?" Maria raised an eyebrow at this. "My mom told me that this place was crawling with Trainers looking for the mysterious letter Pokemon that were said to haunt the place."

"Those Pokemon have long since disappeared for other places, I'm afraid," the man replied. "I've been hearing rumors that there are other ruins that they call home in other regions, but I haven't been allowed to go in search of these other places."

Maria let out a sigh and shook her head. "Oh, well." She gave the man a curious look. "Are Trainers still allowed to look inside the ruins?"

"Of course! Just don't destroy anything - these ruins are not as sturdy as the once were." He motioned to one of the buildings. "I'd suggest starting there - there's a puzzle that we've been unable to solve. Perhaps you'd know how to solve it?"

"A challenge? I'm up for that." Maria motioned for Jaws to follow her to the building the archeologist had pointed out, which was the closest one of the four to the entrance. "Maybe fresh eyes will be able to pick something out that you didn't see." The Trainer took off, the Water-Type following behind.

"That's what I'm hoping for!" the man called after her.

Maria jogged into the building, then slowed to a stop as she looked around at the inside of the stone construct. "Wow. The ancients sure were busy with their carving habits."

Jaws sniffed the air. "I smell Pokemon nearby," he muttered. "Be careful, Maria."

"I'm not worried." Maria walked over to one of the walls and started going over the carvings. "It's a good thing that they modeled their words after the Unknown...or is it the other way around?"

"Don't think so much. In my opinion, the mysteries of the universe are meant to remain mysteries."

"I think those mysteries are meant to be solved." Maria reached out, absently tracing a letter "b" in thought as she frowned. "This is weird..."

Jaws frowned as he looked up at his Trainer. "What?"

"These carvings...they're talking about creatures that look like Pokemon and act like humans." Maria's brow furrowed. "I haven't run into anything like this before in the history books Mom let me borrow. Let's see... '_The Legendary PokeMorphs were creatures that controlled great power, capable of flight when others of their species weren't allowed it, teleportation, and speed that was far greater than anything at that time, or anything that lives today._' PokeMorph, huh?" Maria turned her gaze to a podium-like object that stood in the center of the room. "I wonder..."

The Trainer strode over to the object, stopping directly in front of it. As Jaws toddled over, Maria got down onto her knees in order to inspect the design on the front of the stone podium.

" 'Blue Blur,' huh?" Maria looked over the strange design. "It looks like some sort of sliding puzzle..."

"Do you really think we'd be all right, messing with it?" Jaws asked, looking around at the stone wall.

"The director said it was all right; I don't see how you should be so nervous." Maria reached out with her left hand and started to mess around with the panels, moving them around one way or another in order to figure out what the puzzle was supposed to turn out as. "Well, that looks like a hand... Why would a creature have feet like that? Are those _shoes and gloves_?" A frown slowly made its way onto her face as the pieces were continued to be slid around.

"Why would a creature have need of anything like those?" Jaws jumped up on his Trainer's back in order to get a better look at what Maria was doing. "I mean, you don't see me wearing human articles of clothing."

"It's a given that Pokemon don't have clothes," Maria responded, glancing over at the Water-Type on her shoulder. "And the ones that appear to we're actually born with them." Her gaze returned to the puzzle, which appeared to be almost complete. "But this creature - it clearly looks like the gloves and shoes are artificially made..."

There was a resounding click as the last piece of the puzzle was moved into place, revealing a creature that distinctly looked like a Sandslash - if someone only concentrated on the spines. The rest of the form was completely unfamiliar - a strange, black nose, the pointed shoes with a single stripe that ended in a buckle of some sort - right down to the confident smirk and delighted look in the carved eyes.

"Whoever had put this up did a pretty decent job for a carving," Maria noted, her eyes scanning the puzzle.

Then the floor below her suddenly gave way, and the Trainer fell into the darkness.

**Line Break**

Maria let out a groan as she got up from the ground, Jaws jumping away from her face as she sat up, looking around to get a better feel for where they were.

"Where are we?" the Trainer asked, looking around. "So many Unknown carvings..."

"We're still in the Ruins of Alph...I think." Jaws pointed upward. "We fell from up there."

Maria looked upward, catching sight of a perfect square of light above them. "Sure enough. There must have been a trap door that was activated after solving the puzzle." She got up from the stone floor and looked around again, Jaws choosing to stay close. "May as well have a look around down here before we try to find a way back up using the Escape Rope." The girl reached into her backpack and pulled out a flashlight, flicking the on switch.

The beam came on in a flash of artificial light, going over the wall in front of them, revealing the carving that looked so much like the Unknown Pokemon that seemed to have once wandered around the ruins.

Jaws let out a noise that was akin to a human whistling. "That's a lot of carvings."

Maria nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It'll probably take weeks to get all of this - months, maybe." She stepped forward and started to read the carvings more carefully. "This is a weird section. _'The servers ... the seven Ch... Ch... is power, ... the heart. The controller exists to unify the Ch...'_." Maria frowned. "There's something missing here. From what's here, though, it looks like it could be some sort of chant."

"There you are!" Maria turned her head, catching sight of the archeologist they had seen at the entrance to the Ruins of Alph. He, too, was armed with a flashlight, and was jogging from a square of light that actually had stairs coming down from it. "I was starting to wonder when you didn't come out. When I saw the hole in the floor, I thought that you might have ended up down here by accident." He stopped beside her, panting a little. "I saw that you managed to solve it."

Maria nodded. "Yeah, I did. What kind of confused me, though, is that the creature that was shown doesn't look like any sort of Pokemon that anyone's come across. The Unknown script called it 'Blue Blur.' Would you happen to know anything about it?"

The archeologist thought a moment before nodding. "We managed to translate most of the writings down here - at least, what script was readable. A lot of it talks about myths of some sort - but the carvings claim them to be true." The old man shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure what to make of it, honestly."

"Hmmmm..." Maria frowned slightly, a hand moving to her chin as she thought. "I don't really know what to make of it, either, but it seems to be the only explanation for how a carving like the puzzle I solved could even exist. But...what sort of name is 'Blue Blur'?"

"There is evidence up there that the creature was referred to by another name, but unfortunately, it's name is presently unreadable," the archeologist responded. "Perhaps, in time, if we manage to update our technology, we may be able to figure out what the creature's name was. After all, if a creature is referred to as a 'blue blur' and is renown for his speed among the ancients, there might be something in its name that hints at that, as with the others."

Maria looked over at the archeologist in surprise. "Others? You mean there wasn't just this creature?"

"Oh no, certainly not." The archeologist motioned for the Trainer to follow him out of the ruins. "It might be better is you had a look at what we've managed to translate."

**Time Break**

Maria scrolled through the translated text on the laptop screen, her eyes scanning it as she went. "This is some pretty interesting stuff. A man who created robots - some capable of sentient thought? Creatures like Pokemon, but that have the intelligence of humans?" She looked over at the archeologist. "I'd really like to have a more detailed look at this."

"That can be easily arranged." The old man turned and dug through a large box of mechanical parts and devices, eventually coming up with a flat blue, rectangular device. "Just let me find the...cord...aha!" He pulled out an equally blue cord, which he promptly plugged into the USB port on the laptop. A progress bar popped up on the computer's screen. "I had a few of these made so that those working on this could read on the go, rather than trying to read over each other's shoulders."

"I can imagine the difficulty in that," Maria noted. "And I'm sure that each one of them reads at different rates and finds different things important, as well."

The archeologist chuckled. "Indeed." There was a chime from the computer, and he unplugged the blue device from it, handing both the device and the cord to Maria. "Here - I'm going to look for the plug that allows this to charge."

"Thanks..." Maria watched as the old man practically dove for the box again.

Jaws climbed up onto his Trainer's shoulder, inspecting the strange device curiously. "So, how are you going to use that, anyway?"

"It's a touch screen device," Maria explained to the Pokemon. She touched the screen of the pad with her right finger and moved it, causing the text to move with it. "See? I can control it simply by touching it."

"Huh. I guess it's a more compact way of carrying around those books you're so interested in?"

Maria smiled sheepishly and ducked her head a little. "Yeah. But even these devices can have their limits - the data storage probably doesn't allow for much to be out in."

"Indeed." The archeologist handed Maria a blue plug that clearly went with the cord. "These specific devices were designed only for what we found here, in the Ruins of Alph." He frowned slightly. "You...you can understand your Pokemon?"

Maria nodded. "Yeah. It's a gift that I've had for a while." Mentally, she added, _Since I was turned into one..._

"Well, you are one of the lucky few," the archeologist responded with a chuckle. "If you come up with anything, make sure to come back here as quickly as you can - or give me a call, if you're detained." He dug through a pocket for a moment before pulling out a slightly rumpled business card with a PokeGear number on it.

"Thanks!" Maria took the card, then stated, "And if you want to try to contact me about a progress report, here's mine!" The Trainer quickly relayed the number to the archeologist, who's quickly wrote it down in the laptop so that he could put the number in his PokeGear later. The old man then frowned as though a thought had occurred to him.

"You know, I never got your name," the archeologist stated, turning to look at Maria.

"It's Maria," Maria responded. "Maria White."

The archeologist's eyes widened. "The Kanto Champion?"

"Until I was beaten by Blue and Red," the girl responded with a delighted smirk. "I still hold the title, though, whether I'm at Indigo Plateau or not."

"Incredible. A member of the new generation who is as into our history as I am." A smile came over the old man's face as he recalled something - most likely from his own past. "I wish that others could show this kind of curiosity, Maria."

"I may find someone - you never know." Maria shrugged, then got out of the chair she had been sitting in when she had been going over the text on the laptop, Jaws readjusting to the sudden movement. "I'll make sure to keep this close and go over it whenever I can."

"Don't let me stop you from getting stronger," the archeologist replied, chuckling. "You have a lot of potential for that - I can tell."

"So a lot of people have already told me." A smile crept onto the Trainer's face. "Again, thanks for letting me have a look at this. It's a lot more valuable than finding one of those elusive Unknown at this point."

"It was no problem." The archeologist made a waving motion. "No, go on! I'm certain that your next destination is not a place to be kept waiting!"

Maria's eyes widened, and she nodded. "You're right! Faulkner said that Bugsy's Gym wasn't going to be open for long this week! I gotta go before he goes off on vacation!" With that, she turned and dashed out of the building, making a beeline for the exit from the ruins.

"Kids these days," the archeologist muttered to himself, shaking his head and smiling to himself. "Always on the run."


	3. An interview with a scientist

**An interview with the scientist**

"O.K., so Route 4 should be just up...ahead."

A green, lizard-like creature with a leaf on the end of its tail looked up at its Trainer. "Is something wrong, Maria?"

The blue eyed, brown-haired Trainer looked at the Servine. "Nothing's wrong, Emerald. It's just that I didn't expect Route 4 to have these ruins sticking up everywhere." She motioned to the crumbling buildings that lined the road in the distance.

"The humans were planning on making a road through the desert." The Servine and Maria turned to look in the direction of a patch of dark sand, where a brown-and-black striped crocodile sat. "When they found those ruins, they stopped production because they didn't want to destroy some of their history."

"Huh." Maria's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't expect that. Maybe I should have played through that other game..." Seeing the look of confusion she was getting, the teen added quickly, "It's nothing."

The Sandile moved from the sand and approached Maria, curious. "You're not that kid who took out all those other teams, are you? The kid called White?"

Maria gave the Sandile a look of surprise. "Yes, that's me. How did you know?"

"Pokemon who were released by Plasma before they were dispersed claimed that a ten year old girl with more experience with Pokemon than a champion managed to somehow make friends with aliens and destroy four different organizations. There are a couple Minccino around here who swear on their clean dens about it."

Maria smirked. "They don't have to. Yes, I'm that kid - only a few years older and with more backstory than most people know about."

"Most people?" The Sandile looked confused. "Who does know?"

"Hey, Maria!"

The Trainer's head turned, only to get sprayed in the face with sand as a figure came to a screeching halt. Spitting to what she could, Maria exclaimed, "Sonic, try to be a bit more careful! There's enough sand in this sandstorm already!"

"Sorry." The hedgehog became embarrassed. "But I'm kind of surprised to run into you here in a place like this!"

"Well, it is the only way to get from Castellia to Nimbasa." Maria looked the hedgehog over. "So, where's Paul?"

"In his Ball," the hedgehog replied. "He said that the storm was affecting his eyesight, so he's going to stay in there until I get out of this mess. My other friend, though, seems to like it."

"Other friend?" Emerald repeated.

"Yeah. Hey, Dash - get out of there and say hi to my friend Maria!"

The head of a dusty blue shrew poked out of Sonic's quills. "Hi."

Maria's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. I haven't seen a Sandshrew_ that_ color before. Normally, the Shiny ones are green."

"Really?" Sonic looked up at his Pokemon. "That explains the people that were going after him."

"Going after him? What did they look like?"

"They were wearing black all over," Sonic replied. "And they all had identical hair and eyes, too, which made me think they were probably identical siblings."

Maria's eyes narrowed. "Orange hair and blue eyes?"

Sonic nodded, careful to make sure that Dash didn't fall off. "Do you know about them?"

"I've run into a couple of them already," Maria replied. "They're remnants of Team Plasma, from the same organization Black took out two years ago. I have an idea as to why they might still be around..."

Sonic's emerald eyes sparked. "It has something to do with how you know about Team Galactic's stuff, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Those things are different this time around - I played an alternate version of the events being done here, and with you and the others on this world, things are going to be less predictable."

"That's to be expected."

"Excuse me! You there!" Maria's head turned as a figure approached. He was wearing a lab coat, was carrying a tablet of some sort, and had blond hair with a sprig of sky blue that wrapped around his head...

"Who are you?" Maria asked, a curious frown forming on her face. "I remember seeing you in the sewers back in Castelia."

"My name is Colress," the figure replied, his golden eyes flashing. "I'm studying the hidden power that a Pokemon can have when it is bonded with a Trainer. I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be capable of holding up a conversation with Pokemon."

"It's a gift I've had for a few years," Maria stated. "Sonic can understand them, as well, but that's only because an alien race stuck a translator in his ear."

Colress looked at the hedgehog. "You mean this isn't a Pokemon?"

"No." Sonic folded his arms across his chest. "I'm a Mobian."

"Mobian?" Colress' eyes widened. "Ah! You mean the creatures that appeared in Sinnoh? You are one of them?"

"That's right. My girlfriend went on ahead to Nimbasa with a friend of mine to check out the Musicals. I wanted to train up my team, and I ended up running into Dash not too long ago."

"Interesting..." Colress looked at Maria. "Do you two mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Uh...sure." Maria exchanged a quick glance with Emerald, then looked back at Colress, who was now armed with a stylus, which was hovering over his tablet.

"So, how often do you use your Starter?" Colress asked, looking at Maria.

"I've taken to letting Emerald battle when I need to train her up to the rest of the team's levels, or if she has a Type Advantage against a Pokemon I'm fighting," Maria explained. She smiled down at Emerald, who grinned back. "Right now, I'm going to need her help if I'm going to run into any Ground-Types, but I'll be needing one if I'm going to fight Elesa in a Gym Battle."

Colress nodded. "And you, Sonic?"

"Paul's taken a liking to taking over when one of my other Team members is getting weakened pretty quickly," Sonic replied. "And he's fast enough to avoid electric attacks. I'm giving him a break right now, though - he doesn't like the sand very much."

"Interesting. And when you want to make friends with a new Pokemon?"

"Ask if they want to come along with us!" Maria and Sonic responded together. They looked at each other in surprise, then burst out laughing.

Colress was surprised upon hearing this, but smiled and started to write vigorously on his tablet. "One last question." He held up a PokeBall. "I want to test your strengths on the battlefield."

Maria grinned, grabbing a PokeBall from off her belt. "You're so on!"

"Go, Magnemite!"

"Go, Carlos!"

The magnet-oriented Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light, looking around at its surroundings for a moment before looking at its opponent: a jackal-like Pokemon with spikes coming out of the back of its paws and the center of its chest.

The Lucario let out a growl, as though to attempt to intimidate his opponent, but he didn't move from the offensive stance he had taken upon coming out of his PokeBall.

"Let's go for a Force Palm!" Maria ordered, moving her right hand to one side as the sandstorm started to pick up a little.

"ThunderSh-" Colress cut himself off in surprise as his Electric/Steel-Type fainted in an instant, Carlos standing in front of the fainted Pokemon with a paw out. "Incredible. I have never seen such an amount of strength from a Lucario before."

"Carlos prides himself on his attack power, and he's always looking for a greater challenge," Maria explained calmly as Carlos jumped back to her side. "I ran into him pretty early on, and I think the only reason he agreed to follow me at first was that I could help him become stronger. I managed to create a deep Trainer/Pokemon bond a few days ago."

Carlos snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. Colress saw this movement and gave the Fighting/Steel-Type a curious look.

"It doesn't seem like he's too pleased with you," the scientist noted.

"I've run into Pokemon with attitudes before," Maria waved off. "Carlos is just reluctant to admit that he sees me as a friend, that's all. He'll fully adjust to it eventually."

The Lucario let out another snort and turned to face a different direction, muttering something under his breath. his Trainer let out a sigh in response.

"You know, I have been hoping to get a Lucario for some time now, but I haven't been able to find the time to hunt one down for my studies," Colress noted.

"Try to make some time, then," Maria offered. "There's a ranch in the southwest that has a small colony of Riolu - I'm sure one of them would be more than willing to travel with you." At the back of her mind, something was nagging her, telling the Trainer that it might actually be a bad idea to suggest something like that to this man. She wondered if he might have appeared in one of the articles she'd read concerning the sequel games for the original Black/White duo.

"Tell you what, I picked up a Trapinch some time ago," Colress stated, pulling a PokeBall from one of his lab coat's pockets. "I'm more fond of Pokemon that are part Steel, and your Lucario fits the bill. How about it?"

Maria frowned, then looked over at Carlos, who was eyeing the scientist with a curious - and interested - expression. "Are you willing to go through with it? We might not run into each other again, you know."

"And I might never get an opportunity like this again," the Pokemon replied. Turning to look at Maria directly, he stated, "As much as I got stronger hanging around you, I'm still not comfortable with your idea of training. This guy might provide a little more of a better training style for me."

"Well?" Colress asked, looking between the Lucario and the Trainer.

Maria let out a sigh. "We'll do it."

The PokeBalls were quickly exchanged, and Colress gave his farewells to Maria and Sonic, then walked off with Carlos.

"I don't like that guy," Dash murmured softly.

"Me, neither," Emerald agreed. "He smelled funny."

Sonic nodded slightly. "Yeah. I'm getting the feeling that we're going to run into that guy again."

"He is certainly a character," Maria agreed. "But why would a scientist be walking around in places like sewers and deserts when he's researching bonds with Pokemon? He'd have a better chance talking to Trainers if he cycled though standing outside of the Gyms." She looked down at the PokeBall she now held that contained the Pokemon she had exchanged with Colress. "Speaking of which, I think I just might have the ticket I need to beat Elesa in Nimbasa - if she's still the Gym Leader there."

"Why? What's her favorite Type?" Sonic asked, a curious expression coming over his face.

"Electric." Maria grinned. "And, seeing as Trapinch is part Ground, he's not going to be affected at all by her attacks - at this point, he probably knows at least one Ground-Type attack, too." She looked out over the sand. "Just to be sure, though, I'm going to want to catch another Ground-Type to help him out." She promptly struck out into the sands, Emerald following behind.

"There's a group of Sandshrew in the Desert Resort!" Sonic called after her. "Maybe you should go talk to them!"

"I will!" Maria called back. "Are you planning on challenging any Gyms? Because Paul would rock the one in Castelia!"

"I was actually heading there to poke around before heading back to Nimbasa! Thanks for the tip!"

With that, the two friends parted ways.


	4. White Kyurem vs Maria

**Now, here's another section taken out of the Unova chapters - and there are Pokemon speaking in it, and I meant for it to be underlined, but for some reason I can't get all of the text to work with me on that. So...yeah.**

**White Kyurem vs. Maria**

Maria strode into the cave, Emerald slithering along nervously beside her.

"It's so cold," the Serperior hissed softly.

"I know," Maria responded. "Kyurem is just up ahead. He's generating all this cold...and I'm going to fight him."

Emerald looked at her Trainer in surprise. "You? Fight a Legendary? But what about the rest of us? Zan-zan could certainly-"

"He's part Ground, and that's going to give Kyurem the edge it needs - the Pokemon probably knows Glaciate by now." Maria stopped at the back of the cave, where another entrance had been carved into the rock, leading even deeper into the side of the chasm. "I'm not going to put you guys in jeopardy just because one Legendary needs to be stopped. I can handle this."

Emerald gave her Trainer a funny look. "And how are you going to manage that?"

"I have my ways." Maria peered into the cavern, catching sight of the icy dragon and its master. "I'm going to let everyone out, but I'm counting on you and Luke to make sure that they stay back and don't try to fight this for me." Once Emerald had nodded, Maria reached for her PokeBalls and called out her Pokemon: Luke (Lucario), Amp (Ampheros), Zan-zan (Flygon), Stoutland, and Mary (Azumaril).

Most of the Pokemon looked at the Trainer in confusion, but Luke had a look in his eye and meant he understood the situation.

_"You're going to fight him yourself, aren't you?_" the Lucario inquired.

Maria nodded as the other Pokemon looked on in shock.

_"Why?"_ Mary asked. _"Maria, you could get yourself killed!"_

"I'm not that kind of human," Maria responded. "You remember how I told you guys about what I did before I became a Trainer?" There were a few nods from the Pokemon. "Well, not all of it was left in my Vulpix form." A fireball suddenly materialized in one hand, causing the Pokemon to jump back in alarm. "Trust me, guys - I can handle the ice dragon. We'll be fighting Ghestis together as soon as I'm done, so watch out." With that, Maria turned and strode into the cave, her team not too far behind.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little brat from Asperita," Ghestis noted as Maria approached.

"And if it isn't the hot head from Plasma." Maria stopped not too far away from Kyurem and looked the dragon over. "You didn't hunt down this dragon the first time. Why hold it off until now?"

"Those two brats with the other dragons have made it hard for me to work in secret," Ghestis hissed in response. "Now that they're in an entirely different region, I can fulfill my plans, and you can be removed from my sight! Kyurem, Glaciate!"

The ice dragon let out a roar in response, and the temperature seemed to drop by twenty degrees as ice crystals started to hover above Maria's head. Emerald was about to lunge forward to take the blow, but Luke held her back, shaking his head.

Maria smirked. "That is nothing." Slowly, the temperature around her started to rise, and a white aura seemed to come into existence around her. "Here we go! White Flare!"

There was an explosion of heat and fire as Maria unleashed everything she had, completely melting Glaciate and doing major damage to the ice dragon, as well. This left her, however, kneeling on the ground with very little energy.

Ghestis stared at Maria in shock. "What are you? Reshiram in human form?!"

Maria let out a harsh laugh. "Me? A Legendary? You have got to be kidding! I'm only a Vulpix, you green-haired ninny, but I have friends who are Legendaries." A shadow appeared overhead, and she looked up, the Trainer's eyes sparking with delight. "There's Reshiram!"

The white dragon let out a roar in response to Maria's call as it landed beside the Trainer. A familiar, green-haired teenager leapt off the dragon's back. His eyes were wide with surprise.

"You're Maria?" the teen asked. "The Trainer Black told me about?"

Maria smiled weakly up at the boy. "Yeah, that's me. You're N, right?"

N nodded. "What was that just now? How could you a human do something like that?"

"I was turned into a Vulpix six years back," Maria explained with a half-truth. "Some of it stuck with me, even after Palkia changed me back." She started to get up, but Reshiram stopped her.

_"You are weak from that attack,"_ the Legendary murmured. _"Allow me to replenish what you lost."_ Within seconds, Maria felt her strength returning by what she suspected was a Heal Pulse.

"Careful," the Trainer warned. "Kyurem wasn't taken out by White Flare. And Ghestis hasn't even sent out his team yet."

"I won't have to," the Plasma member retorted. He threw something at Kyurem, yelling, "Now! The DNA Splicers!"

Maria let out a growl as N looked on in shock. "I really should have tried harder to go after the Shadow Triad..."

"Reshiram, move quickly!" N called out. "Those DNA Splicers-"

_"I know."_ The white dragon took off, watching Kyurem as the ice dragon got ready to attack._ "Just try to come and get me!"_

Maria blinked in surprise at the outburst as she got up from the ground. "Is Reshiram normally like that?"

"Only if he knows something..." N watched his Pokemon as it spiraled out of the way of the energy beams Kyurem was sending out. "How was it that you became a Pokemon?"

"Long story short, I came from the future with a Grovyle to keep time from stopping. On our way through a Passage of Time, Darkrai attacked us in order to try and stop us. I took the hit, and next thing I knew, I was a Vulpix without any memory of my past. I got it all back when I took out Team Galactic with a few friends of mine." Maria's fists clenched as Reshiram was cornered and taken by the energy beams. "O.K. Things are only going to get tougher from here."

N looked from Kyurem - which was now glowing brightly - to Maria. "What do you mean?"

"Where I come from, we can watch these events as though they were games. I know what's going to happen here from word of mouth through friends, and I know exactly how to stop it." Maria stepped forward as the light faded, revealing a conglomeration of Kyurem and Reshiram. "When I beat it, the two Legendaries will separate. Don't worry about your friend; he will be fine."

N gave Maria a look of confusion, then stepped back and went over to Maria's Pokemon to ask them a few questions about their Trainer.

Maria glared at Kyurem. "O.K. No going back." She cloaked herself in fire and dashed forward. "Flame Charge!"

The human slammed into the Pokemon's right leg, causing it to let out a shriek and go down as Maria circled back.

"I'm going to need the speed boost," she muttered under her breath. A moment later, a red staff with the head of what appeared to be the Pokemon known as Moltres (but wasn't quite) appeared in her hands. "Let's go! Thunderbolt!" She slammed her staff into the ground, causing branches of electricity to come out and snake across the cave floor, working their way up Kyurem's form.

The strange conglomeration between Kyurem and Reshiram let out a low growl and shook off the electricity, then started to get up from its kneeling position, glaring at Maria as though she was nothing more than an insect to be squished. The Trainer, taking note of this, stuck her tongue out at the Pokemon in defiance, a grin appearing on her face soon afterwards.

"You couldn't hit the broadside of a barn," Maria taunted as she started to run around the giant Pokemon, her staff charging up for another electric blast. "If we were fighting on the other side of the world? Maybe. But then again, I'd have a whole lot of X-Eye and Reviver Seeds to keep me up and running." She laughed, delighted as Kyurem let of a roar in response to her statement.

A mere moment later, a serious look came over her face as she saw the fiery sphere that the Pokemon was charging up. "Let's see how you handle this! Thunder!"

The electric blast flew up at Kyurem's head as it blasted a Fusion Flare in her direction before she could even move. The attack soon enveloped her as the staff disappeared.

"Yes!" Ghestis crowed, grinning wickedly. "A thorn in my side is no more!"

_"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you,"_ called out a telepathic voice in response. As the fiery sphere started to shrink around Maria's form, everyone looked at Luke as he continued, _"There is more to Maria than what initially meets the eye."_

"You got that right, Luke!" There was a shockwave of fire that blasted away the remains of the attack, revealing Maria standing on the cave floor with what appeared to be an aura of fire around her.

"Hey, Ghestis, do you want to know what Pokemon I turned into?" Maria called out. "I was a Vulpix before I was a Trainer." She grinned. "Flash Fire's up and active."

"Impossible!" the leader of Team Plasma argued. "Kyurem has Turboblaze! You should be unable to use any abilities!"

"I had fire abilities long before I was a Vulpix, you cape-wearing freak. As I am a human, some things aren't as restricted by rules as you're used to." Maria winked, then turned her attention to Kyurem. "And now for the grand finale! White Flare: Overcharge!"

This time, the white fire didn't come out as tendrils: it came out as a white wave that crashed into Kyurem, who let out an ear-piercing shriek as it collapsed as the move slammed into him.

The fire disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving Maria standing on her own two feet, but panting heavily, as though she had used up a large amount of her energy. Again.

"NO!" Ghestis exclaimed

Kyurem's fallen form started to glow as the man screamed, and the form split into two; Reshiram was its own Pokemon once more.

"Reshiram!" N exclaimed, running over to the Fire/Dragon-Type as it started to get up. "Are you all right?"

_"Here."_ Luke ran over to the Pokemon and placed his front paws on the Legendary's form. _"Chaos Heal."_

A large blast of dark blue Chaos Energy rippled out from the Lucario and into Reshiram's form, healing whatever damage that might have been done. When the energy faded, Luke removed his paws and stepped back.

Reshiram let out a low growl as he got up. He looked over at Luke, who watched the large Legendary with something akin to awe.

_"Thank you,"_ the Pokemon rumbled. He turned s head and nodded to Maria. "_You fought well. You have had more training in combat than most Trainers I have seen."_

"Most of it is instinct," Maria admitted, smiling slightly, a little embarrassed at gaining praise from a Legendary.

_"Well, you have good instincts, then._" Reshiram gave her a curious look, but didn't continue with that line of conversation. Instead, he turned his gaze to Ghestis, who looked like he was about to lose his temper.

"How dare you!" Ghestis roared. He grabbed a PokeBall from out of nowhere and attempted to throw it, but quickly found himself entrapped in the grip of an angry-looking Grass-Type serpent, who gave him a warning hiss. Maria's other Pokemon soon joined in, surrounding the Plasma leader in an attempt to keep him from sending out his team and causing anymore trouble than he already had.

"Ghestis, you're under arrest," Looker declared as he stepped into the chamber. A Toxicroak followed him closely, his eyes going over every single Pokemon present as though it were assessing them.

"You picked the perfect time to show up, Looker," Maria stated cheerily. She jabbed her thumb in the direction that Ghestis was located in. "I'm going to attend to Kyurem. The Plasma goon's still got his Pokemon on him, but my team's keeping him from pulling them out."

Looker nodded in approval, then walked towards the Plasma leader. Maria took off her backpack and made a beeline for the Ice/Dragon-Type Legendary.

"Okay...Full Restores...Hyper Potions...aha!" Maria produced a large, spiked object from her backpack and, carefully opening Kyurem's mouth, stuck it in while carefully working around the sharp fangs the Pokemon had.

The effect of the Max Revive was instantaneous.

The Legendary's head shot up, and he looked around quickly, searching for anything that might be a danger. Upon catching sight of Ghestis, he let out a growl and started to approach him.

"Don't!" Maria called. "Looker's going to make sure that he's going to get the proper punishment that he needs!"

Kyurem stopped short, then glanced back at her with a slightly curious expression. He turned back around and lowered his head so as to get a better look.

_"You...you smell like a Vulpix,"_ the Pokemon finally stated.

"Because I was one," Maria responded. She got up from her kneeling position, picking up her backpack and throwing it over one shoulder as she went. "For a short time, at least. Name's Maria. I'm the one who made sure that you managed to break free of whatever it was that Ghestis was managing to control you with." She glanced sidelong at the staff that had been slammed into the ground, taking note that it appeared to be smoking.

_"And for that, I thank you,"_ Kyurem growled. He looked over at Reshiram, who had been watching the proceedings carefully. _"Make sure no one disturbs my resting place. I am going to wait for this child to return."_

_"Brother, you aren't considering-"_

_"I am."_ And without another word, the Ice/Dragon-Type turned and lumbered off, deeper into the cave.

"He isn't talking about considering letting me be his Trainer, is he?" Maria asked, looking over at the Fire/Dragon-Type.

_"It seems that he has,"_ Reshiram responded. _"Though why, after all these centuries, he decided to pick a Trainer who has a Type advantage over him-"_

"Eh." Maria shrugged. "Brothers will be brothers. I've got two at home, and sometimes I have to wonder if I'm even _related_ to them."

N chuckled. "Quite the predicament." He looked over at Reshiram, then back at Maria. "Could I offer you a ride to the Pokemon League gates? It isn't too far from here, and I can tell that you are prepared to face what the Elite Four has in store."

Maria's eyes sparked, and, seeing that Looker had Ghestis readily handcuffed, recalled her Pokemon team. "Sure. That'd be great."


End file.
